Mira
also talked proudly about the access to
higher education that is available to all and completely free. However the
success of this higher education program she confides, has frustrated many
scholars. For example, Cuban PHD’s in the sciences want to meet with others
from other nations studying the same things. They want to go to conferences
around the world and collaborate with
scientists that are at the leading edge of their field. The frustration for
these Cuban PHD’s is that they
cannot leave Cuba. They have limited access to internet (Only 5% of Cubans have
access to the internet) and limited communication with others in other
countries. There are also no jobs in Cuba for these scientists. This creates
dissent in the scientific community.
She
tells us that there is a new push by Raoul Castro to direct students away from
intellectual studies and into farming, by offering them a small piece of land
in the interior of Cuba if they study agriculture.
The strategy is to redirect
students from intellectual pursuits that will make them want to leave Cuba and
focus them on donate money to charity
that will make them want to stay because they now own land there. The
frustration of the intellectual community in Cuba was palpable and we also saw
this theme repeated in much of the art in Cuba.
We
arrived in Havana during one of the most anticipated events in the contemporary
art world: the 2012 International Havana
Art Biennial. This is a wonderful opportunity to further understand the
culture of Cuba and its people. Art curators and museum directors led us
through Old Havana, where the entire
capital became an expansive gallery of exhibitions, installations and performances.
Every venue in this historic UNESCO
city hosted an array of artistic events from massive installations on the
Malecon (the great sea wall surrounding Havana) to the ancient prison cells at
the armory being used as individual galleries.
The
energy and level and sophistication of the Cuban contemporary art world was so
impressive. The major theme was a sense of the artists wanting to have the
opportunity to explore the world, to leave Cuba. There was a huge installation
on the Malecon of a 25ft tall by 40 ft. wide chain link fence with a huge
silhouette of a plane taking off cut out of the middle. The curator of this
work said it was meant to represent the shared dream of being able to take off
from Cuba but being trapped here in a spider’s web of sorts. Very powerful, and
frankly we were surprised that the art we saw was so uncensored.
We
were also so fortunate to be invited to private receptions with five highly
renowned Cuban artists at their studios and homes. Each artist has transformed
their home into a living breathing work of art. From the artist Lazaro, a
street artist who started an art school for poor children on the sidewalk
outside his studio who’s fantastical animal sculptures are created solely from
found objects from a nearby dumpster, to Fiora Fong, a painter and professor
who is credited with founding the contemporary art movement in Cuba, we enjoyed
unprecedented access to the full width and breadth of the Cuban art scene.
In
addition, we had the opportunity to dine in Havana’s Paladares, restaurants in
locals’ houses. It was quite an eye opening experience to see the local’s homes
and speak with them about their lives and dreams. The Cuban people are warm and
welcoming and joyous. Despite poverty and underemployment, they share an optimism
and joie de vivre that is infectious.
At
first blush Havana looks like a beautiful
European seaside city with massive boulevards and elaborate architecture,
but frozen in time and left to decay for the last 50 years. We left Cuba with a
far more intimate understanding of the people and their dreams and their hopes
for their children.
